The Infamous
The Infamous is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Mobb Deep, released in 1995 on Loud Records. The album features guest appearances from Nas, Wu-Tang Clan members Raekwon and Ghostface Killah, A Tribe Called Quest member Q-Tip, and close Mobb Deep affiliate Big Noyd. Embedded with hyper-visual lyricism, dark soundscapes, gritty narratives, and hardcore beats, it marked Mobb Deep's transition from a relatively unknown rap duo to an influential and commercially successful one. The album's haunting style, defined by its evocative melodies, rugged beats, and lyrics dealing with crime and poverty in inner-city neighborhoods reflected the dark side of New York's urban landscape in a manner that received major recognition and high critical praise. Along with albums such as Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Illmatic and Ready to Die, The Infamous is widely credited as a major contributor to the East Coast Renaissance. Furthermore, the album is credited with helping to redefine the sound of hardcore hip hop with its production style, which incorporated eerie piano loops, distorted synthesisers, eighth-note hi-hats and sparse bass lines. Upon its release, The Infamous achieved notable commercial success. It debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200, and number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album produced three main singles, which all achieved varying degrees of chart success, with "Shook Ones Pt. II" being the most successful. On 26 June 1995, the album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Left-over songs from the album were released with Mobb Deep's 2014 album The Infamous Mobb Deep. Background While still in their late teens, Mobb Deep released their first album, Juvenile Hell, on 4th & B'way Records in spring 1993. The album featured production from several revered New York based producers, including DJ Premier, Large Professor and Public Enemy affiliate Kerwin Young, and included the underground single "Hit It from the Back". Due to the album's failure to achieve significant commercial and critical success, the duo was dropped from their label several months after the album's release. Mobb Deep later described Juvenile Hell as a "learning experience". In late summer of 1993, Loud Records was looking for another group to sign, owing to the success of Wu-Tang Clan's first single, "Protect Ya Neck", and by fall 1993, the label had signed Mobb Deep. Recording and content Recording for the album began in early 1994, and ended almost one year later in early 1995. The Infamous was almost entirely self-produced by Havoc and Prodigy, with contributions from Matt Life, Schott Free and Q-Tip (who is credited as The Abstract). The duo's decided to handle most of the production after they were unimpressed with the beats they were receiving. Havoc later commented, "I didn't know nothing about producing music at the time, but I learned by watching others." The style of production on The Infamous was part of a change in New York hip hop from upbeat and jazz-influenced into raw, gritty beats. This style of production, often characterised by dissonant, minor key samples and heavily filtered bass lines became a hallmark of mid-1990s New York hip hop. Reception Commercial performance The album spent 18 weeks on the Billboard 200 album chart, peaking at #15, and it also spent 34 weeks on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, peaking at #3. The Infamous was certified Gold in sales by the RIAA on 26 June 1995. Initial reaction Upon its release, The Infamous received mostly positive reviews. Tiarra Mukherjee of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+ rating, stating "Over mostly self-produced, bare-bones beats, the pairs hard-edged rhymes paint a chilling picture of life on their mean streets".http://www.ew.com/article/1995/05/05/music-review-infamous In its initial review, The Source gave the album a 4 out of 5 mics, with writer Dimitry Leger stating that Mobb Deep "paint vivid scenes of roughneck life with a humourous deadpan" and perform "straightforward, near spoken-word deliveries over stylish vocal gymnastics".https://pressrewind.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/mobb_source695.jpg Retrospect Since its initial release, The Infamous has earned additional critical praise and has been widely regarded as one of the most important albums in the New York hardcore rap subgenre. Steve Huey of Allmusic wrote that the album has "the foreboding atmosphere and thematic sweep of an epic crime drama", praising its "detailed narratives" and "raw, grimy production" that "evokes the world that Mobb Deep is depicting". The Source re-rated the album to its perfect five mics score in 2004, stating that "Prodigy's thugged-out entertainment and Havoc's sonic production on cuts like the bone-chilling "Shook Ones Pt. II" and the stick-up-kid anthem "Give Up the Goods" proved to be timeless street joints".http://rateyourmusic.com/list/scottbdoug/the_source_magazines_5_mic_rap_albums/ Rolling Stone also re-rated the album in 2004 to a maximum of five stars, calling it "one of the greatest rap albums of the '90s". XXL gave it a classic rating of "XXL" in its retrospective 2007 issue. Track listing References Category:Mobb Deep albums Category:1995 albums Category:Albums produced by Havoc Category:Albums produced by Q-Tip Category:East Coast hip hop albums Category:Hardcore hip hop albums